


a party of bards

by attempted-writing (Mister_Sandman120)



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Bards, Elf, Half-orc, Halfling, Music, Tiefling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-10-30 10:58:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17827301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mister_Sandman120/pseuds/attempted-writing
Summary: a party of bards wakes up and has a jam. i might turn this into a series if i feel up for it :-)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this was written for the dndnet server on discord and tumblr. join in if you love d&d and the people who play it. also, all names were taken from fantasy name generator, a website i like quite a lot because, lets be real: names are hard!

the light of dawn crept into the camp. a tiefling stared at what remained of last nights fire as he sighed while looking over out in the distance. he was far from home, but he had his drum and with that, he would never feel like he had strayed too far.

soon enough, one of the tents opened and out came an elven woman. “you’re up early, Varan. bad dream?” the man asked and was granted a glance look from the elf. “not quite, Cardos. I was done with my trance and decided I might make breakfast for everyone,”. “right! right,” Cardos chuckled “if you need help, I’d be happy to help out,”. “good to know,” Varan answered with a grin of her own.

after gathering some provisions, Veran started to cook the meat and butter the bread. some rustling came from another tent. the tent flap was pushed aside by a big green hand. “what’s smelling so good here” the half orc asked, while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “good morning, Garenar” Veran greeted her and after a similar greeting from Cardos, he said “Veran is making breakfast,”. Garenar looked at the fireplace and saw the four pieces of meat that were cooking up nicely. “looks good,” she complimented “but what will you three be eating,” her smile revealed her blunted tusks. “we’re sharing that, Gar” Cardos answered continuing the joke “three pieces for me and you all can fight for the last one,”. 

the three had a laugh about it when the last tent flew open and a halfling came running out “you lot are not screwing me out of breakfast again!” he yelled with his cutlery at the ready.

after breakfast was gone Garenar and Cardos started packing all the stuff. “did you have a good sleep, Mervon?” Veran asked the halfling who was full of energy. “oh I slept just fine. breakfast was even better though, where did you learn to cook like that?” he smiled. “why thank you, dear! i cooked it with some herbs i taken with me from the last town,” she smiled wide. “you know what? I feel inspired” Mevron said, with a massive smile and a fire in his eyes. he ran back to his tent that was about to be collapsed by Cardos and came back out with his flute and started playing a heroic melody. Varan listened carefully and picked up her lyre and started to play along with him. it didn't take long for the two to have a song ready. 

“well you two were having fun,” Garenar said, slinging her hurdy gurdy over her shoulder “want me to join in with you two, or is this more a duet kind of song?”. the two nodded at each other, signaling anyone was welcome to add onto this song. the three played some more and when the last thing was packed away, Cardos joined in as well on his drum. “it needs lyrics,” Mervon said, as a general statement. “it needs a name as well,” Veran answered him. “let's think of that while we’re on our way,” Cardos said with a smile. and the four of them started to head to the next town they wanted to play at.


	2. the town of Ghostwell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the party reaches the town they wanted to go to. after Cardos gets the band a gig, everyone goes their separate ways to meet there later on when the preformance is supposed to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another one for the dndnet discord server, fulfilling the prompts 'ocean' and 'star'. Vermilion and Scarlet were supposed to be npc's in a one shot i was once writeing but that never happened and what happens with them here is removed far enough from what was supposed to happen with them in the on shot so if i end up running it one day, there wont be any spoilers here.

the journey was long enough for the four bards. they walked the entire day with food breaks in between and reached the town of Ghostwell. the town was big enough to have a wall around it and a manner house overseeing the place. the cliffs to the west of town looked out over the ocean which lay still, revealing it’s dark blue waters.

as the party entered the town, they got the usual strange looks from it’s (mostly) human residents and after finding someone who was willing to speak to them, they found out the most likely place to get a bed for a performance was the Red and Amber Inn, not far off the main square.

“welcome to the Red and Amber Inn” a red tiefling smiled from behind the bar in the cozy building. the entire party looked at Cardos who was already on his way to the man who had greeted them. 

The man had introduced himself to Cardos as Vermillion and after a short negotiation, the two struck a deal as the red and dark blue hands shook. Cardos came back to the rest of the party happily saying “we’ve got the gig. we don't get paid but the four of us have to pay for 1 person. so tonight we’re running on tips, yall,”. “and you couldn't change that deal?” Mervon asked slightly disappointed. “well, he said he didn't need any performers to draw more attention, so if he’s having a good night, we’ll have one as well,” he smiled “we’ll just need to rely on our natural charmes to haul in the extra bit of coin,”. “and you discussed that with him as well?” Veran asked with a raised eyebrow.

he had made deals that backfired in the past before, promising a bed and breakfast for the gig when the deal was only a bed, saying it would be fine to pass the hat around for tips when the inn owner clearly stated that they weren't allowed to do that. Cardos had gotten the group in trouble before and cost them a fair bit of coin at times, but he was the one with the best skills when it came to making deals, so usually they let him do the talking.

“it was my counter offer to him,” he explained “i said we need to make some money as well and if we weren't allowed to get some in the shape of tips, we wouldn't be playing. and he went along with it,” he smiled proudly of the deal he had made. the rest of the party stopped questioning him and went for a drink. 

it was late in the afternoon and sun was bright in the clear blue sky. after the first drink, Garenar stayed at the Red and Amber Inn, talking with Vermilion and his sister Scarlet. Cardos went into town and shopped around for a bit, talking with vendors, towns folk and other travelers. Mervon had spotted a bookstore when they came in and spend his time there till the shop closed about an hour later.

meanwhile Varan walked out of town, passed the rocky cliffs and onto the beach. she sat down onto the beach, that consisted out of pebbles more than anything else. she had grown up inland but was moved to a city at the coast when she was still quite young. she spend those years as a servant for the nobility, only seeing the ocean from the windows she cleaned and wishing to go there. and now she could and did when she had the time.

it became late as the clear blue of the sky had given way to the red of the evening and the sun was slowly sinking behind the watery horizon. that was when the stars came out and shone on the calm waters which reflected every bit they could, only disturbed by the minimal waves in the water before her. the pale moonlight beamed down on her and the beach and the town behind her. she took her lyre and played the melody her mother had played for her when she was young. a short and sweet melody which was the first she learned. 

tears started forming in the corners of her eyes as the melody brought back feelings of things she thought had long passed. but no, memories came pouring back into her mind as tears started pouring down her cheeks. 

the song was over and she put the instrument down and that was when she heard footsteps behind her. she dried her eyes and turned around to see Mervon walking up to her “i thought i might find you here” he smiled “that was a nice melody you were playing,”. she heaved a sigh and thanked him though she also told him it wasn't up for jamming. “it’s a bit too personal for that isnt it?” he asked as he put a hand on her shoulder. she nodded “are you up for the gig this evening?” he asked her, seeing the red of under her eyes. she smiled “i am… thank you for asking,”. he took another good look at her and asked “do you need a hug?”. she nodded and so they hugged. 

“lets go to the Inn” Mervon said when the two had let go “don't want to make the others miss us,”. she smiled and stood up. “thank you for this, Mervon” she sighed as she joined him on the path back to town.


End file.
